SUNRISE COUNCIL MEMBERS BRUSH UP ON SOCIAL GRACES

So once a week, Sunrise City Council members Mike Stern and Steve Effman doff their political hats and don their dancin' shoes.

The two council members and their wives began weekly ballroom dancing classes on Wednesday night at Bair Middle School.

"We thought it would be fun," Effman said. "And it will definitely come in handy."

The two men, who grew up boogie-ing to Chuck Berry and Fats Domino tunes, never quite mastered the ol' box step.

"I'm a pretty good rock 'n' roll dancer," Stern said. "But I'm not good at ballroom dancing. We're involved in so many social functions now, I think it's going to be a benefit. We're going to have dance fever in a few weeks."

WHERE'S THE MAYOR?

Audience members were a little befuddled on Wednesday, when they showed up for the Plantation City Council meeting, and Mayor Frank Veltri didn't.

It didn't help when council member Ralph Merritt said Veltri was recovering from surgery last week at Plantation General Hospital. Audience members became concerned. What's wrong with the mayor, they wondered.

Council member John Gibbs explained, delicately.

"I said the mayor is emulating President Reagan -- medically, not politically -- and that the results were the same," Gibbs said.

Veltri, 73, who is running for a fourth term as mayor, underwent the same surgery as Reagan, who in July 1985 had polyps removed from his colon. Veltri's fine, and doctors expect him to be home Monday.

WHERE'S THE ATTORNEY?

Lauderdale Lakes City Attorney James Brady also missed his city's Tuesday night council meeting.

A dozen regular council-watchers buzzed about the strange face on the council dais. Where's Brady?, they wondered.

Not to worry. Brady had another case to handle in St. Petersburg that day, but he'll be back at the next meeting. William Seitz, an associate in Brady's firm, held the fort.

"In the 12 years I've been with the city, I think I've had a conflict six or seven times," Brady said Thursday. "People are used to seeing my face. When a new face comes out, they have to reset their carriage, I guess."

THE CITY NEEDS ANOTHER ONE?

Tamarac residents have established a new political club -- the Sawgrass Democratic Club -- to capture some of the area's politically active residents who are dissatisfied with the many Democratic clubs already in existence.

"A lot of people are disenfranchised with the clubs they've been in," said Diane Glasser, an active Democrat from Tamarac who helped organize the new club. "People have been saying they want something to get into."

Nearly 100 people turned out for Thursday's organizational meeting at the Italian-American Club on Commercial Boulevard, Glasser said. The club's next meeting is March 5.

She hastened to add, however, that the new club is concerned with Democratic Party politics and won't be competing with Tamarac's other political groups.

"Aw, those are only for city politics," she said, "I don't get involved in that. That's not my cup of tea."

MUST I JOIN A CLUB?

For armchair political enthusiasts, there's Broward Issues, a new, half-hour show on cable TV all over the county.

The first show, on Jan. 12, featured newly inaugurated Sen. Bob Graham and former Lt. Gov. Wayne Mixson in a round-table discussion with host Frank Loconto of Sunrise.

Produced by American Cablesystems in Pompano Beach, Loconto discusses local and state issues with politicians every week, said company spokeswoman Susan Farless.

"We all seemed to agree that it's something that's needed in Broward County," she said. "People want to know what's going on in county government."

The show airs at 7:30 p.m. on Mondays and 6:30 p.m. on Thursdays in homes served by American Cablesystems.